Definition
“An internet
identity is a social identity that an Internet
user establishes in online communities and websites. It can also be considered
as an actively constructed presentation of oneself.” [2]
Introduction
“I’ll drop you
a text later….no wait Facebook, no Twitter, no Skype me ahh never mind just
send me Snapchat xoxox” – A intoxicated fresher!
As referenced
in my last post our time spent interacting with the online world is increasing.
This means more usernames, more accounts, more passwords and more platforms to
share from. This is great we are getting services for free. But we have to ask
ourselves what are they getting in return, what is their purpose for providing
us with these great services free of charge.
For
With new Internet
services popping up everyday, it is inevitable that we as users are going to
build up a variety of online identities that we can contribute and share from.
This can be seen as a good thing, ‘its good to share’ – Mum and Dad! But where
should we draw the line?
It’s definitely
useful to have online identity as you don’t have to login multiple times. [1] It
speeds up process that we take for granted e.g. Gmail login. Logging in is
almost seems old fashion especially by digital residents.
By having an
identity we can promote the positive aspects of our lives and downplay the
areas we are not so happy with. LinkedIn is a great example; it allows users to
promote themselves and show off all their achievements to date, therefore
making them more attractive to potential employers.
“The best
things in life are free” – Coco Chanel
Against
The issue with
having so many online identities is that you cover a variety of Internet
services, thereby giving away information about your private life. You have
your usual suspects such as Facebook and Twitter covering social aspects. But
then there are others, e-mail client’s such as Gmail, which is linked to Google
maps so our location is linked as well! Nike sports bands are linked to our
phones to share with our friends how fit we are. This is all-fine and provides
useful services, and will make our lives easier when swapping between services.
However commercial
companies are building up profiles of you based on your combined internet
interaction and forming a profile of you which they can then sell.[1] With
no direct financial gain to the individual.
This is a
difficult subject to analyze. If your school/university sold your details onto
a third party, you would be extremely annoyed as well as it being a breach in
the data protection act. [3]
On the other
hand if Facebook sells your age, location and interests to a marketing agency,
so that they can market relevant products to you. There is not a lot you can do,
as you have posted that information to the Internet and to the public, anyone
has access to it now.
“There
ain't no such thing as a free lunch.” Robert A. Heinlein
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Personal Experience
From my use of social networks in
terms of Facebook usage there seems to be an image for young people and even
some adults that if its not on Facebook it didn’t happen. This is a strange
concept as yes it’s great to relive the memories of someone’s birthday the
night before, but I don’t need updates of every time you’ve left the house!
Summary
In summary, I
believe it is essential to monitor and constantly evaluate what information
users are posting to the Internet. Even this blog post when published will be
affiliated with my name. I would urge readers to look at what they have posted
today and whether they would tell a stranger on the street what they have said
online and share relevant media with them? Or would they prefer certain content
to be kept private, and out of the public eye?
References
[1] http://www.internetsociety.org/what-we-do/internet-technology-matters/privacy-identity
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_identity
[3] http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1998/29/contents
